Breaking the Seal
by Nuklear Firefly
Summary: Long ago, in a time before battle tournaments and disc stones, a terrible war ravaged the continents. The legendary Phoenix is sealed as the warring countries bring the world closer and closer to destruction. This is the story of the Great War. gameverse
1. Project HENGER

**Log 1 - Project H.E.N.G.E.R.**

"My friends," cried Doctor Richard Swift, arms spread wide to the crowd, "at long last, we have discovered a technology that shall bring an end to this war! We have found a way to save the lives of millions, human and monster alike! We have found a way to create intelligent beings that are capable of doing battle for us that will never turn against us! We have found a way to do the impossible: breathe life into nonliving metal!"

Whispers and murmurs spread throughout the gathered crowd in a soft, rippling roar. Doctor Swift smiled -- a slow, reassuring smile -- and waited for his audience to calm before continuing.

"My fellow Ageans, do not fear this technology. While great, it is perfectly tame when carefully programmed by the many scientists of Promiass Labs. Only we are capable of understanding the technology, let alone producing it. You are all in good hands. The best news of all is that the enemy is guaranteed to never use our technology against us: the Tochikan religion strictly forbids use of machinery to create life!"

A cheer exploded from the audience. Swift nodded, smiling broadly and encouraging the support for the project he was working so hard to promote. As the crowd began to shout out words of thanks and praise, the doctor bowed respectfully, waved, and made his way back into the cool, quiet lobby of the Promiass Labratory Building.

Once inside and away from prying eyes, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed the sweat from his forehead.

---

"Sir, the AI program in the Melcarba units is faulty. We need at least another week to correct the problem before we can allow them to be sent out."

The engineer shook his head calmly, not moving as he stared critically out over the production lines. Row after row of slow-moving belts filled the massive room on the other side of the glass, each belt lined on the sides with technicians immersed in their work. Every few feet along the belts sat a human-sized, human-shaped jumble of metal parts, half-assembled and occasionally blinking emerald, mechanical eyes at one another. A few heads rotated around curiously, though most of the robots stayed still as they were worked on.

"Sir?" the head programmer asked blankly. The engineer motioned for him to come stand beside him.

"You see all those Hengers down there?" the engineer asked. The programmer nodded, nose wrinkled in confusion. "Every last one will be done by the end of the day, and I want Melcarba units in their places by tomorrow morning. AI doesn't matter; we're getting slaughtered out there. The stronger they are, the better."

"S-sir, you don't understand," the programmer stuttered, giving his superior a horrified look. "The program for recognizing Tochikans has a bug in it; the monster will attack anything it sees, even if it's an ally! It doesn't care what it goes after!"

"These machines don't care about anything," the engineer replied coolly. "Unless you've been programming emotions into them?"

"N-no, sir..."

"Good. Then I see no problem. The Hengers don't care who's giving them orders and still follow them; the Melcarbas will be fine as well. Now go give the program disk to all technicians."

"Y-yessir."

---

"Begin."

A panel in the wall on the far side of the room slid open, metal groaning as it dragged across metal. The Tiger in the room winced, pinning its long ears back against its mane against the agonizing noise. Another low groan sounded from within the heavy darkness that the panel had revealed, although this one made the Tiger lower itself closer to the ground, back away, and bare its fangs, snarling as a twin emerald glows flickered to life in the darkness.

A metal claw, massive, stepped out from the shadows, carrying with it the first Techno Dragon to come to life.

Panicking, the Tiger howled, lightning crackling across its fur before leaping across the room and striking the half Dragon, half Henger monster full force. It shook its massive bronze head as if clearing sleep before rearing it back and opening its maw wide. A blinding light, redder than blood, shone from the back of its throat.

The observing scientists all shielded their eyes from the resulting blast, pausing only to take note of the destruction before scribbling the findings down.

---

Galloping frantically, a Hare Hound tore across the searing sands of the Goat region, his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth from a combination of being winded and being so damn _hot. _The sand was sticking to the sensitive pads on his feet, which felt raw from taking so much abuse over the past few days. A Tiger could only run so far. He slowed to a trot, finally reaching the packed, damp sand where the tide was slowly making its way to low point. A wave rolled in, striking his ankles and swirling around them, cooling his burning paws. He heaved a sigh of relief and would have jumped right in were it not for his duty.

Off to his left, another Tiger, half Gali by the looks of her, was lying on the cooler sands and chuckling at him. He chose to ignore her and held his head high, dark brown ears held straight back in a sort of Tiger salute.

"Inoru-san?" he called to the human wading fairly close to the shore. The man pushed pale blonde hair out of equally pale green eyes, looking around for who had called him. The Hare Hound cleared his throat and tried again. "Doctor Inoru, am I correct?"

"That would be me," the man said, sloshing through the saltwater and making his way over to the brown Tiger, who sighed with relief.

"Message for you, sir. It's in the capsule attached to my collar."

"Thank you." Inoru kneeled down and carefully untied the small, wooden capsule from the monster's neck. He opened it, reading quickly through the short message before giving the monster a sharp look. "Is this true?"

"Yessir, seen 'em myself. No machinery in them. They smell real; not anything like the things Agea fights with. They've got souls, too."

"Yes." Inoru let out a slow sigh, shaggy blonde hair falling into his face again. He pushed it aside, shaking his head. A wooden monster, mocking the technological weapons of the enemy country and working in quite the same way... "I think I can see the problem here."

---

**Author's Notes:** All right, I swear the name of the Doctor was me just picking random first and last names out of a hat. And then I went and searched to see if it was a real person, and it was, so my apologies to the real Richard Swift. Dr. Swift won't be appearing past here, though, so no worries, right? XD;;

Yeah, so this entire fic is semi-AU. Only semi, though, because I've taken extensive notes on all the stuff I've found on this war -- in ALL the Monster Rancher games, so it's all of them in one (and not the anime -- sorry dudes). However, it's hard to tell which countries actually have which areas, since the games' continuity wobbles all over creation, so I'm taking a little free rein. :) Rest assured that there's probably a plothole somewhere that this whole thing will fit in! (And I swear this is the biggest chunk of AN crap you'll see in the entire fic. I promise.)

_Guide to the Monsters of Log 1:  
_Melcarba Beaklon/Henger  
Hare Hound Tiger/Hare  
Techno Dragon Dragon/Henger

Disclaimer goes down here! I don't own Monster Rancher even though I wish I did! Tecmo has rights to all monsters and whatnot in here! Characters are all mine, however!


	2. Automaton

**Log 2: Automaton**

"Now... tell me if I'm wrong... you've taken the Henger design... and made it out of wood." Doctor Inoru spoke from behind one hand, carefully kneading the bridge of his nose to stave off a growing headache. The technician he was speaking to nodded enthusiastically.

"Yessir! All wood, sir, no machinery whatsoever."

"And for it to move by itself... you're using souls," drawled Inoru, looking up at the other man with cold, angry eyes. The technician laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck with one hand, holding his clipboard to his chest with the other.

"You make it sound worse than it is, Doctor..."

"Using the souls of the dead _isn't _abominable, then?" the doctor asked, his tone very light for the amount of sarcasm in his words. "My apologies."

The technician gave one last sheepish cough. "We're giving those who died in battle a second chance at life and revenge. Only monsters' souls have gone into the mock-Hengers so far, and they've come willingly, so we believe that they _want _to..."

"Be brought back," Inoru finished for the other man, shaking his head and looking away. "Of course they do; they died before their times, left behind too many things unfinished. Any restless soul would take the opportunity for revenge and to finish what needs to be done. My question is, are we not taking the role of the Phoenix, bringing back those lost lives?"

The technician looked down at his clipboard guiltily, knowing full well that he and his colleagues were trespassing on the gods' territory now. Only the Phoenix could bring back the dead, and, even then, was limited. Souls were supposed to be left to their own business -- if it came back to haunt, that was fine, but souls were meant to be laid to rest. The God of Death, the Joker himself, was the shepherd of those souls, and surely he would be angry that his job was being meddled with.

None of that changed the need for more power in the war, however. It was kill or be killed now, and the gods had never seemed more distant than they did now. Fearing them was difficult when the God of Life was sealed away in another country and the God of Death seemed to have stopped caring whether souls wandered or went where they were meant to.

"Sir, with all due respect," the technician finally said after a long pause, raising his eyes from the clipboard and fixing them on Inoru's pale green ones. "The Phoenix isn't free to do what he's meant to. Maybe we need to do his job for him until we can give it back."

Inoru paused, watching the man curiously for a moment, before sighing.

"I wondered if you would say something like that. Very well; do what you will, but expect no help from me."

The technician smiled grimly. "That's all we wanted, Doctor. Your approval."

"Oh, I didn't say I approved," the doctor said, sounding mildly surprised. "I just know you'll go ahead with it regardless."

-----

The doors to the laboratory banged open loudly, the Balon sitting on the steps outside raising her head at the sudden noise. A slight grin tugged at her lips as her human partner stormed out of the building, looking annoyed. She wouldn't tell him out loud, but she loved when he got into moods like this. It always meant that she had a chance to get into a good fight; and no good Tiger ever turned down a challenge. There were times that she let the latter thought be known, and that was when the doctor would calmly inform her that it was very obvious sometimes that she was born a wild Tiger.

She took it as a compliment.

She rose to her paws, the four golden bangles around her ankles jingling softly as she padded over to Inoru, who instinctively reached out and rested a hand on her broad, gilded back.

"You heard all of that, right, Hikari?" the doctor asked, glancing down at her. The Tiger half-breed nodded, the grin pulling her lips further back over her fangs.

"Of course," she replied smoothly. "Comes with the ears."

It wasn't that she meant to eavesdrop, but any Tiger (or Hare, for that matter) could hear _very _well for quite some distance. Most humans were too frightened of Tigers to ask them to leave their partners for fear of having an extra set of ears tuned in to a conversation, and, so, Hikari had a tendency of knowing everything Inoru did.

Currently, he was very agitated, and she knew that, too. Gently, she pushed her nose up underneath his hand and nudged him, giving her tail a lazy wag in an attempt to make him feel better.

"I think they had some integrity, letting you know at all," she joked gently. Inoru blew out a massive sigh.

"This war is completely out of hand," he said wearily, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I just hope the troops are ready for what they're getting themselves into."

-----

"You know," the black-haired girl drawled, holding out a cigarette in the general direction of her Draco Mocchi. The little, crimson-scaled monster stared blankly at it for a moment before hiccupping a tendril of flame out to light it. The girl patted her on the head, smiling, and took a long drag on the cigarette. Her human companion wrinkled her nose, but didn't make any other move to show her disgust at the habit. "These Automaton things look a lot smarter than the Hengers do. I mean, these've got souls and you can tell. Lookit those bastards. I bet Agea doesn't get help taking in the firewood without telling their 'bots to do it."

"Probably not," the other woman agreed, nodding thoughtfully. She eyed the far-off wooden creatures that were milling around, carefully carrying in more wood. She wondered if the wood really was for campfires for the troops or if it was for more Automaton production. With a sigh, she glanced at the younger girl and frowned. "Achika, _please. _How many times do I have to tell you that the monsters hate your smoke?"

"How many times do I have to tell you yours benefit from the extra carbon dioxide?" Achika replied, smirking. Kohana, her companion, made an annoyed little noise somewhere between a growl and sigh. "Really now, calm down. We got bigger things to worry about, don't we? Gonna die anyway, might as well be because of someone you know instead of a complete stranger from overseas."

Kohana shook her head. The two of them had been friends for ages and neither was really too sure why. War did funny things, brought people together who would otherwise never even look each other's way. Currently, the two were lounging beneath their favorite tree, Achika's Draco Mocchi curled against a root comfortably while Kohana's two Plant hybrids stood just outside the shade, drinking up sunlight. Both were due to receive new monsters soon, since the breeders in Kalaragi and Brillia were finally letting the new litters out to fight. Achika had lost her Salamander not that long ago, and, frankly, Kohana hoped that a new monster would help to fill the void left behind.

She just hoped that another void wouldn't be on its heels, as it seemed everything was anymore. Once a tragedy was recovered from, another came to take its place. The war was long and cruel and, honestly, she couldn't even remember what had started it anymore.

A little voice in the back of her mind was saying something about the Phoenix, but she didn't think it had ever existed anyway. Were they fighting because of something that never was?

A roar went up just outside the moving wooden wall of Automatons, Achika's Mocchi perking up and standing on tiptoes to try and see what was going on. Both women exchanged a quick look and got to their feet as fast as possible, picking up swords as they did so. Kohana's Mirage Plant waved one stem to them, motioning them to come closer. Before they could take three steps, even the tiny Mocchi could see the cause of the commotion.

Arching up over the crowds, sunlight gleaming off their massive bodies, was an entire wing of Techno Dragons. Emerald streams of light were suddenly glaring out of at least twelve mouths, turning into beams that blasted down into the Automatons. Wooden parts flew sky-high as people broke into frantic scrambles for safety. Kohana took a deep, shaking breath and glanced over at Achika, whose cigarette fell to the ground from slackened lips.

"I think Agea's still a few steps ahead of us in the technology department," Kohana said flatly. Achika didn't look back at her, her stunned expression hardening into one of determination as she fell into a defensive stance, readying her blade. Her Draco Mocchi held up little scaly fists, glaring up at the screeching robotic monstrosities gliding towards them.

"Shut the hell up," Achika growled, eyes fixed on the sky. "I'm not losing this fight just because you want to be cute."

-----

_Monster Guide to Log 2:_

Balon – Tiger/Gali

Automaton – Henger/Mock

Draco Mocchi -- Mocchi/Dragon; as I hope y'all got. XD;

Salamander -- Zuum/Dragon

Mirage Plant -- Plant/Jell


	3. Mischief

**Log 3: Mischief**

The bluish smoke swirled and cleared, revealing the ravaged battlefield left behind from the attack. Techno Dragons still circled overhead, the sun gleaming off their metal bodies as they laid waste to all below them. Massive, smokng black craters spotted what was once a grassy green field. Entire trees had been felled, branches that had, just minutes earlier, been filled with leaves now ablaze. Human and monster bodies were strewn everywhere, blood staining the grass red. In the middle of it all was the human that had once been her partner, now nothing more than scattered limbs and a smoking torso.

The Pixie hybrid wasn't sure it was the smoke that was choking her and making tears stream down her face or if it was the carnage before her. In either case, she couldn't move, every limb paralyzed with fear and horror, trembling from head to toe. Her wings were pinned, motionless, to her back, tail curled around herself, hands pressed firmly over her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut and crouched down low next to what was once her partner, just waiting for it all to be over.

She jumped nearly a foot when something touched her arm lightly, a squawking, high-pitched voice squeaking over the explosions for her to hear.

"Hey," the strange-looking ducklike monster quacked, eyeing her with bugging out, crimson eyes. She eyed him, terrified, static crackling in the air around her as her fear grew. The Ducken flailed stiff arms worriedly before patting her on the shoulder with one wing. "Hey, calm down, calm down, I'm on your side. Was that your human partner?" She nodded. "Ah, I thought so. Hey, deep breaths, okay? You'll make yourself pass out. In, out. Got it?"

She managed to take in a deep gulp of air, hiccuping lightly. The Ducken's bill twitched into a sort of smile. "Good job. What's your name, kid?"

"M-my name's Aya," she stammered, watching the Ducken with wide eyes. His awkward, round head was swept off in an overly dramatic bow, startling the half Pixie so badly that she let out a horrified squeak.

"Nice t'meetcha, Aya. Can you get up? I know it's scary, but we have to fight back and you Pixie-types are some of the best against those guys. You know all those wires and stuff in them? Your lightning attacks fry them good. Think you can manage?"

She shook her head, tears streaming down soot-darkened cheeks and leaving gleaming tracks behind. "N-no, I... I can't move..."

Before she could protest, the Ducken looped one wing around her, right beneath her wings, and slipped his skinny neck under her arm, hefting her up gently and grinning at her. She realized, with a start, that the flames around them were reflecting in his blood red eyes. Rather than scaring her more, it sparked hope deep within her.

"That's why I'm here," he quacked cheerfully, "to help you."

-----

"The fire's not hot enough!" Kohana shouted above the din of the battle, both of her Plant-type monsters hiding behind her as the Techno Dragon before them reared it mighty head back and let out a screeching metallic roar. Achika's little Draco Mocchi was panting, sweat rolling down its face as it slumped over in exhaustion. Achika snarled, taking a wild swing with her sword at the giant monster they were fighting, the blade pinging harmlessly off its metal hide.

Beside her, the Mocchi took a deep breath and blew out a long tendril of flame, enough to make both humans step back from the heat, but barely enough to char the Techno Dragon's steel sides. Achika swore loudly. "Hibana can't do much more than this! She's tired! And she's not full Dragon; those flames ain't gettin' any hotter!"

Emerald eyes lowered from far above their heads, glaring balefully at the five smaller creatures before it. Kohana fell into a defensive stance, managing not to even quiver at the monster before her. Achika just charged again, her Draco Mocchi following suit. Steel clanged off steel and cherry blossom petals spiraled through the air, quickly burning up before they even reached their target. One giant metal claw swung out, knocking Hibana aside easily before pinning her human partner to the ground.

Kohana winced, hearing her friend's ribs cracking beneath the monster's mechanical paw.

Both Plant hybrids swung vines out around the Dragon's wrist, trying to pull it loose as their partner charged in with her sword, knowing the effort was only going to get her killed. There was no point, but she wasn't going to die knowing she just abandoned her friend beforehand. The Joker could come and take her soul as soon as she was sure she had tried her best to get Achika free.

Her heart stopped dead in her chest when one sheet metal wing opened with a _whoomph _to stop her charge. Eyes squeezed shut as she braced herself for impact...

The smell of frying oil and a deafening screech made her open her eyes, just in time to see a tiny, half Pixie, half Ducken monster approaching, lightning coarsing from her palms and streaming over the surface of the Techno Dragon's metal body. Kohana could hear circuits popping within, heard the sizzling of the wires as they fried, and stared with wide eyes as the wing that had opened simply dropped off.

Electricity crackled along the frayed edge of the wing as the rest of the Techno Dragon's body crashed to the ground, the light in the emerald eyes faded. Kohana stared, stunned, over the crackling remains at the Pixie creature sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.

Achika only groaned, weakly pushing the dead claw off of herself.

-----

The Zuum troops were shifting from clawed foot to clawed foot, heads low as the monsters chomped their bits, tugging reins idly. Their human riders swayed gently as their mounts moved around, all eyes turned to the skies over the hill and watching the Techno Dragon wing attacking the Tochikan troops. Flashes of green light occasionally flickered in the column of dark smoke rising from the field. The low murmur from the troops all amounted to one universal conversation: they were winning this battle. The Tochikans clearly hadn't expected the attack and had no way to counter it. Though there wouldn't be much left after the wing of Dragons had gone through, the Zuum cavalry was in charge of taking out whatever was left over.

Near the front of the lines, a Nagasaurian lifted his head, blinking golden eyes at another Zuum darting up the hill towards them. As the figure drew closer, he could see it was a ShellSaurian, its dark brown armor cracked and bleeding. One rein, leather frayed at the end, trailed behind it uselessly. Its saddle was missing.

"The wing is being defeated," the ShellSaurian gasped, slowing down to a jog before stumbling to a halt. Dark, almost black blood ran down one leg from a deep gash in its thigh. One man swung down from his mount, running over and kneeling down to investigate the wound. The low murmur in the crowd grew to loud outcries, challenging this new information, but a glance back up at the smoke cloud showed only the rarest flicker of green.

"They've found the technology's weakness," the injured monster went on. "We could go in still, but they've still got enough forces left to hold their ground. It's about a draw now, but we could potentially lose..."

"We can't lose to them!" somebody cried from a rank further back. "We're smarter and there's more of us!"

"Not many more," the ShellSaurian argued, shaking his head. "I mean, we probably will win, but it's not a wise choice to attempt..."

Before he could finish, a low hiss drifted out from the trees around them. Zuums' heads shot up in all the lines, nervously hopping from foot to foot, tails lashing. The ShellSaurian stumbled back a few steps as another Zuum melted out of the shadows and crept towards them, front claws held low to the ground in a dangerous crouch.

"Haven't forgotten us, have you?" the black-and-white striped monster hissed teasingly.

-----

_Monster Guide to Log 3_

Mischief -- Pixie/Ducken

Nagasaurian -- Zuum/Naga

ShellSaurian -- Zuum/Beaklon


	4. Little Gods

**Log 4: Little Gods**

"Haven't forgotten us, have you?" the black-and-white striped monster hissed teasingly. Behind him, seemingly melting out of the trees themselves, a pack of WildSaurians crept out from their hiding places. Every single one in the wild Zuum pack camoflauged so well that the Agean troops struggled to keep them in focus even after it was apparent what was happening. A few of the WildSaurians let out hissing snickers, gleaming, yellowing fangs bared in feral grins.

"What business do you have here?!" the commanding officer demanded, trying in vain to rein in his panicking NobleSaurian. As it danced frantically from foot to foot, the leader of the wild Zuum tribe, the ZebraSaurian that was first to speak, seemed thoroughly amused at the disquiet his troupe was causing.

"Have you any idea, human, how many of my pack used to be mounts in your army?" he sneered, catlike eyes narrowed at the commanding officer. "Do you know how many were abandoned by careless humans that wanted something 'better', more 'flashy' than an average Zuum? They were raised to rely on your kind and were cast aside in the name of fashion!" Behind him, the ZebraSaurian's companions all were snarling now, pupils narrowing and fangs dripping as they snarled. "We are here for revenge, human. We will strike all of you down and free our brothers from your rule. And it starts _now."_

Before the final word had even passed his lips, his WildSaurian band leapt forward, snarling and hissing.

If the attack itself wasn't a surprise to the men of the Agean army's Zuum cavalry, the fact that most of their own mounts knocked them from their backs and helped in it.

-----

"Sir," murmured Gregory Faust, second-in-command of the Agean army, "I have bad news."

The head of the army, one Cliff Killick, looked up from his maps and raised an eyebrow at his old friend and ally. "...Do you?"

"Unfortunately, sir, I do. The troops attacking the Tochikan Morx outpost have all been destroyed, sir."

"_What?!_How?! Did they get wind of the attack?"

"No, sir, but they figured out the Technodragons' weakness. Also, a wild Zuum band attacked the cavalry troops and annihilated every last one of them, leaving the monsters alive. We only found out because one HoundSaurian escaped and came to tell us."

Killick blew out a long, slow sigh, massaging his temples. This was certainly an unexpected defeat. Everyone in the Agean army had expected a total victory. Perhaps they had severely underestimated the enemy. And wild monster packs were becoming an increasing problem. Word had reached him of a wild Tiger pack that regularly attacked and thieved from any troops passing through their territory. Wild Zillas were making their sea campaign go far worse than expected. Many Golems used by the army had abandoned the war effort, escaping to the wild and stopping the army bodily whenever nature was threatened. Many aspects of their war effort were falling apart at the seams now that it had dragged on for so long. Nobody was even entirely sure which side was winning anymore.

Brushing his maps to one side of his very cluttered desk, Killick took out a fresh sheet of paper to make himself a note to contact the families of those killed in the Morx attack. Faust nervously cleared his throat once the note was written, and Killick looked up at him, a silent motion to speak.

"Also, sir... it appears the seal on the Phoenix has somehow been broken."

Despite how shocked he had been at hearing the previous bit of news, it was only now that Killick jumped up from his seat, hands down on his desk, shouting another _"WHAT?!" _that made Faust flinch. A couple of ink bottles jumped up off the surface of the desk and clattered to the floor, spilling ink all over the tiled floor. Neither man noticed.

"W-we're not sure how it happened, sir, but the disc stone is gone. Long gone. And the revival machine is warm... it was recently run by somebody. We put two and two together, and..."

"_This is unacceptable!" _Killick boomed. "We_cannot _have the Phoenix loose! We are too deep in this war to have _it_turn against us as well!"

"I know, sir, but it's long gone," Faust stammered, sweating slightly in his panic now. "There are no traces of it in the skies anywhere, and the machine wasn't run that long ago. We don't know how anyone got past our security to run it, let alone get the Phoenix _out..._"

"_Figure it out," _Killick growled, his face a deep, furious red. Faust saluted, barked out another "sir!", and all but ran from the office.

Killick looked down at his desk, now splotched with ink, papers scattered everywhere. With a harsh swear, he kicked the desk and stormed out in Faust's wake to do some investigating of his own.

-----

Word spread quickly throughout both Agea and Tochika of the Phoenix's escape and Agea's slipping power in the war. Agea themselves refused to acknowledge their weakening strength, and Tochika rejoiced both that their god was free and that they now had an edge on the enemy. Troops worldwide claimed any monsters they owned with any shred of Gali in them were overjoyed, strengthened by the knowledge that the sun god himself was free again. The joy of the Gali decendents spilled over into the monsters surrounding them, and despite the war continuing, monsters across the world were thrilled with life again.

It didn't last too long.

Winter was closing in on Tochika, biting all plant life with frost in the colder regions and simply turning the warmer regions a bit cooler. Goat was surprisingly cool for this time of year, especially with the usual warmth that poured off the ocean and rose up from the neighboring Kalaragi region. Despite the unusual cold, it was still autumn-like weather by most people's standards, and one man stationed in Goat was thoroughly enjoying the weather with his monster.

Hideo sat side-by-side on the beach with his Kato, Jun, both sharing a jug of sake and watching the twilit ocean waves. Jun occasionally blew out smoke rings, needing nothing more than innate Kato fire powers and some alcoholic fuel. Hideo tried to match his monster's skill with a pipe of his own, but stood no chance. Nevertheless, the two were both friends and allies from the war, and needed nothing more than each other's company and a comfortable silence to enjoy themselves.

Hideo watched a shadow flickering along across the waves for a few moments before glancing over at Jun. "You see that shadow?"

The Kato squinted even more than was normal for one of his species, his moustache twitching thoughtfully. "I do. Can't make out what it is, though."

"Wonder if it's another Zilla coming south for the winter," Hideo mused, taking another puff on his pipe. Jun shook his shaggy head and climbed slowly to his paws, walking up to the water's edge to try and see closer. His human companion followed, squinting slightly as he tried to bring the shadow into better focus. After a moment, Jun's nose twitched and he stumbled backward, his eyes opening wider than Hideo had ever seen.

"That's no Zilla," the catlike monster gasped, whiskers quivering. "That's the Joker."

-----

Elsewhere in Tochika, in the biting cold regions of the Brillia territory, a young soldier curled up with his monsters for warmth stared in surprise as what he'd thought was a shooting star wheeled around and shot back the way it had come. He alone could see out of his brigade's barracks, a medium-sized cave that usually managed to avoid the worst drafts. Drafty or no, the cave was well below freezing, and monsters and men alike had to dogpile together for warmth in order to sleep. Some monster and human teams were not so fortunate as others -- his good friend Daisuke had two Dragons and oftentimes would lend one of them to a less fortunate soldier in the barracks; usually the poor kid with the three Plants and one Pixie. Yoshi himself had two Mocchis, not exactly toasty warm, but far from cold. The guy across from him, who could occasionally see out the cave's gaping mouth and see the stars, was currently buried under his six Tigers.

Yoshi took a quick look around the cave to see if anybody else was awake. Nobody appeared to be, except for one of the six Tigers watching him with gently glowing golden eyes.

"Hey," he whispered to the Tiger, "did you see that shooting star?"

"What shooting star?" the Tiger asked blankly.

"Yeah, what shooting star?" he heard his friend Daisuke speak up. He turned to stare and found that his friend was peeking up over one of his dragons' arms, said Dragon also listening to see what was going on.

"I just saw something like a shooting star, but it turned around and went back the way it came," Yoshi explained. Daisuke just kept staring. The dragon rumbled an annoyed little sound and tucked its head back under its wing, going back to sleep. One of the other guys' Suezos, apparently awake, spoke up.

"You're full of it," the Furred Suezo drawled. Yoshi bit back a sharp retort and pointed out at the sky, which was clear for once. Outside, the usual winter clouds had cleared for once, letting through the cold light of the stars and the crescent moon. The Furred Suezo blew out a sigh, her long rabbit ears pinned back in annoyance, and hopped to her one foot to go outside and look. Daisuke extracted himself from his dragon, the Tiger squirmed out from the dogpile it was in, and Yoshi wriggled out from between his Mocchis. The cold immediately took his breath away, chomping down hard on the tip of his nose and immediately making him wish he'd stayed put.

Outside, the Suezo half-breed was rolling her one massive eye. "I'm telling you, you just saw a shooting star and imagined the rest. I'm not gonna find any... thing..."

She had turned her eye skyward and had given it one quick, sweeping look, which was apparently more than enough. Just as she had trailed off, a distant screech, both musical and frightening, echoed down the snowy canyon. The fur of the Tiger's thick mane suddenly bristled. Even more goosebumps broke out on both Daisuke and Yoshi as they turned their eyes skyward.

The shooting star was wheeling around in circles now, and every time it reversed direction, another screech would echo down to them.

"What the hell is it?!" Daisuke demanded, glaring at the Furred Suezo. She just shivered.

"I... I dunno_what _it is, really... It looks like the Phoenix, but it's _blue..._"

A glaring blue flare lit up the dark, snowy night.

-----

_Monster Guide to Log 4_

ZebraSaurian -- Zuum/???

WildSaurian -- Zuum/???

NobleSaurian -- Zuum/Gali

HoundSaurian -- Zuum/Tiger

Furred Suezo -- Suezo/Hare


End file.
